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Sunday, October 30, 2016

Shivaay: Movie Review

Shivaay: Devgn’s Most Audacious Film!

Image Courtesy: topmovietalks.in

Reviewer’s Thumb Mark

While the titans clash at the box office this Diwali to
have an edge over the other, I feel Shivaay will have the last laugh. Ajay
Devgn’s production company way back in 2000 came up with its first movie ‘Raju
Chacha’ and in 2008 he co-produced ‘U, Me Aur Hum’ which also marked his
directorial debut. Now, with Shivaay Ajay Devgn the Actor, Producer and
Director has come a long way. He is known to take cudgels against the biggies
in the industry and in ‘Shivaay’ he does the same without bothering about the
consequences in store for him. I think he is pretty comfortable doing that both
off and onscreen.

Shivaay is breathtaking in its action sequence though it
goes a bit over board in doing that as if Ajay Devgn enjoys his indulgence in performing
stunts. We can even sense a Rohit Shetty influence when the vehicles crashes
each other after a heady race and piles up on the street while the hero escapes
unhurt with valor.

Image Courtesy: hindi.filmipop.com

Shivaay is the story of an audacious mountaineer and a
trek guide who lives on the Himalayas. He feels and believes that he is the lad
of the snow-clad mountains where Shiva resides. The dialogue fits apt for his
character – “Isko kante lage na kankar raan mein rudra gharon mein Shankar, aant
yahi sare bhighayon ka iss Bhole ka vaar bhaynkar”. Shivaay during one of his
trekking expedition with a bunch of youngsters comes across a Bulgarian girl
Olga (Polish Actress Erika Kaar) who speaks Hindi fluently because of her brief
stint as a student in Delhi University. Their trekking expedition becomes quite
eventful because of a natural calamity and what follows is a stunning action
sequence amidst horrifying avalanche and snow storm.

Image Courtesy: indianexpress.com

Shivaay and his team nurse an injured Olga till she
recuperates. But before she leaves to Bulgaria she leaves behind a doll (child)
in the custody of Shivaay and knits a handmade doll to take care of her
daughter because she has many other lives back in Bulgaria to take care off. Nine
years later, Shivaay and his daughter Gaura (British Child actor Abigail Eames)
sets forth to Bulgaria to visit Olga for once because Gaura stumbles upon a well-guarded
secret about her supposedly dead mother.

Shivaay and Gaura’s visit to Bulgaria has many things in
store for them which is brutal as well as fatal too. Will, they survive the
onslaught of the Bulgarian and Russian mafias. What upsets the Bulgarian Police
and Government? Why Shivaay is declared a fugitive is quite interesting to
know. Will Gaura meet her mother? Is she alive?

Image Courtesy: hindi.filmibeat.com

The film Shivaay has some veteran actors like Girish
Karnad and Saurabh Shukla but unfortunately Ajay Devgn fails to do justice to
the caliber of these actors. Sayyeshaa Saigal as Anushka the Indian Embassy
official is good. Her bond with her father is stretched beyond the requirement
just to justify that there are other father daughter duo on this planet who
bond well. The last dialogue by Anushka to Shivaay that it is difficult for those
daughters to find a match whose fathers are too good is out of place and
unnecessary. Vir Das as an ethical hacker and friend of Anushka plays well his
role but is short lived. Erika Kaar and Abigail Eames are convincing in their
respective roles as mother and daughter.

Image Courtesy: jagran.com

Aseem Bajaj’s work as a cinematographer in Shivaay is
noteworthy. The panoramic aerial shots of the snow covered mountains, the
trenches, and the avalanches by Aseem is so well done that it leaves you
mesmerized. The constant Shiva chant with the background score ups the tempo of
this action thriller.

Shivaay falters in the department of editing. It could
have been far more trimmed but it stretches to almost three hours which makes
the story a bit tardy and the viewing tedious. There is no songs that stays
with you. The fight and stunt sequence are too long and it goes on and on which
makes you lose the interest. Moreover, Ajay Devgn is less human and more of a superhero
which is a major drawback of this film because it makes one hard to relate to
the happenings on screen.

In short, it will be unjustified to write off Devgn’s honest
attempt to give an action thriller even though it has many flaws. Shivaay, I
must say is a straw to hold on to celebrate Diwali for many cine goers who felt
disappointed after watching Ae Dil Hai Mushkil. At least, it has a story to
tell with some technically sound action sequences.